NPS Form 10-900 0MB No. 1024-0018 (3-82) Exp. 10-31-84 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service For NPS use Omy National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form date entered See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries complete applicable sections 1. Name historic Kennywood Park_(Kenny' s Grove)_ and or common Kennywood 2. Location street & number 4800 Kennywood Boulevard not for publication city, town W. Mifflin vicinity of state Pennsylvania code county Allegheny code 3. Classification Category Ownership Status Present Use district public _X_ occupied agriculture museum _ X . building(s) X private unoccupied commercial park _X_ structure both work in progress educational private residence site Public Acquisition Accessible entertainment religious A object in process _JL_ yes: restricted _ government scientific being considered .. yes: unrestricted industrial transportation no __ military X _ other: recreati (amusement park) 4. Owner of Property name Kennywood Park Corporation (c/o Mr. Carl Hughes , President) street & number 4600 Kennywood Blvd. city, town West Mifflin __ vicinity of state Pennsylvania 5. Location of Legal Description courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Recorder of Deeds , Allegheny County street & number County Office Building city, town Pittsburgh state Pennsylvania 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Pennsylvania Historic Resource title Survey Form__ __ ___ _ __ __ has this properly been determined eligible? __- yes _x_. no date July 1983 __ federal _X_ state __ county __ local Office of Historic Preservation depository for survey records Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission 7. Description Condition Check one Check one X excellent deteriorated unaltered X original s ite good ruins _JL_ altered moved date _ _ ._ .._ _ __ ._ ._._ _ fair unexposed Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance Summary Kennywood Park is a 40-acre amusement area roughly 5 miles southeast of the city of Pittsburgh which is open to the public each year from April until Labor Day. Sited on a plateau above the south bank of the Monongahela River, nearly opposite Turtle Creek, Kennywood was begun as a trolley excursion park in 1898 by the Monongahela Street Railway Company and opened to the public in 1899. There are now more than 35 buildings and amusement structures on the site, as well as parking areas and a picnic ground overlooking the river valley. The park is reached via Kennywood Boulevard, which passes the southwestern edge of the site. An additional 85 undeveloped acres owned by the Kennywood Park Corporation are across the boulevard. This latter area is not included in this nomination. The following structures are the oldest remaining at Kennywood: the Casino (1898); the "Jack Rabbit" roller coaster (1921); the "Old Mill" (1926); the "Racer" roller coaster (1927); the Dentzel carousel and its shelter building (1927); the Windmill (1929); and the Noah's Ark (1936). These features, gener­ ally in the central area of the park, constitute its historic area. Kennywood's facilities have continued to evolve around them since the 1930s. While Kennywood updates its attractions continually and the site has seen numerous changes during its history, the Park retains, to a high degree, its original combination of picnic space, landscaped grounds, a dining area, music and entertainment, and a variety of games and rides. Kennywood ! s Individual Historic Features: George S. Davidson, the engineer for the Monongahela Street Railway Company, designed the basic layout of Kennywood Park in 1898 and became its first manager when it opened in 1899. His arrangement of open-air pavilions in a triangular pattern surrounding a small central man-made lake remains basically intact. The abundant, careful landscaping, begun when the park opened, remains today and is, in fact, an attraction in itself. The grounds feature tree-lined walks, flowers in abundance, a topiary, and a floral clock (a calendar in flowers with a daily-changing date) . The Casino Of several pavilion-type structures built at Kennywood according to Davidson's design, however, only the Casino, or Main Restaurant, remains. A large 2-story Shingle-style building with an interior floor space 72 feet by 120 feet, it originally featured arched open-air openings on the first floor and square ones on the second; it was glass-enclosed on both levels in the 1940s. * The 8. Significance Period Areas of Significance Check and justify below prehistoric archeology-prehistoric community planning landscape architecture religion ._ 1400-1499 archeology-historic conservation . law science .._. 1500-1599 _ agriculture economics literature . sculpture _ . 1600-1699 architecture education military social 1700-1799 art engineering _ _ music humanitarian __ 1800-1899 commerce exploration settlement philosophy __.. theater X_ 1900- communications industry politics government transportation invention _X_ other (specify) _ _.__ Recreation... Specific dates 1898-99 Builder Architect George S . Davidson (amusement park) Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) Summary Kennywood Park, the "Roller Coaster Capital of the World," has also been dubbed, in the words of its premier historian, "America's greatest traditional amusement park."l It has won such acclaim by enduring, since 1898, the multiple vicissitudes that have put dozens of its competitors out of business. The development of Kennywood Park documents the growth and trends in the amusement industry in America, as well as the technological advances and innovations which contributed to the Park's continued success. Buildings, structures, or rides from nearly every era of its history are preserved at the Park. Kennywood retains many of the facilities, including several rare, exceptional, arid highly representative historic ones, that attracted its patrons early in the century. Yet it has always managed, over the decades, to adapt to changing fashions in a manner that has enabled it to retain its popularity. Kennywood opened when there were scarcely any automobiles or paved roads. It has survived the Great Depression and other hard economic times, the diversion of its trade to other tourist destinations made possible by successive generations of highway construction that have bypassed Kennywood itself, and the onslaught of television on traditional outdoor recreational pursuits. History Thriving Kennywood Park is one of the few survivors of the "trolley park" phenomenon which boomed at the turn of the century, when street railway companies across the country, anxious for riders in the evenings and on weekends, built suburban amusement parks linked to center cities by trolley. In southwestern Pennsylvania alone, Kennywood was one of thirteen such trolley or railroad excursion parks. Surviving the competition depended upon attracting businesses, institutions, and organizations to the Park for picnics and outings. Shrewdly managed, Kennywood soon became the largest picnic park in the region. In advertisements, it was promoted as a place both pastoral and thrilling, with amusements of all kinds in a safe, clean environment. Before the trolley era, the land which now comprises Kennywood was part of the Kenny Farm, a tract of land purchased in 1818 by Charles F. Kenny. Kenny, with his son Thomas, prospered by mining coal on the property and shipping it downriver on flatboats.2 9. Major Bibliographical References SEE CONTINUATION SHEET 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated properly ____40. Quadrangle name _Braddock, Pennsylvania Quadrangle scale ___. lj^4 t UT M References A Ui7 I |5|9|6|8|6|0| U |4 \1 |1 [4 |9 |0 I B ll 17 I \5 \9 16 \8 16 10 U 14 \1 IQ la 17 10 Zone Easting Northing Zone Easting Northing C U|7 | |5|9 t 6|l|0 |0| |4 |4 \1 |0 \8 |7 |0 | D |l |7 | \5 \9 |6 |l |0 |0. | J4 |4 I? |1 U |9 |Q E|___| M I I l i I I , I , I | , I F| , | | | i | . , | | , | , | , , G i | I I i I i i I I i I I I I l I H | ! | J__L Verbal boundary description and justification The holdings of the Kennywood Park Corporation to the northeast of Eermywood Boulevard (outlined ;on attached map.). List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state code county code state code county code 11. Form Prepared By name/title James H. Charleton, Historian organization History Division, National Park Service ^ate_____March_1 985 __ street & number HOO L Street, NW telephone (202) 343-8165 city or town Washington_______________________state DC 2Q013-7127________ 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: __ national _- state __ local As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89- 665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. State Historic Preservation Officer signature title _________________________________date For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register date Keeper of the National Register Attest: date NPS Fom 10-0004 OMB No. 1024-OO18 042) Exp. 10-31-84 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register off Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form Continuation sheet_____________ item number 7 Page 2 Casino continues to house the Park's main restaurant. The front facade, facing the lake, is 7 bays, with the 3 center ones projecting. The interior of the Casino was restored in 1971; its high pressed-tin ceiling, exposed wood beams, and slow-moving ceiling fans exude a particular charm that recalls the era of its construction.2 Roller Coasters Kennywood's roller coasters of different types and vintages remain the Park's single most exciting attraction.^ Of 11 coasters built at Kennywood between 1902 and 1980, five are extant: the "Jack Rabbit" (1921) and the "Racer" (1927), both designed by John A.